WASHINGTON - Just days before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. counterterrorism officials were chasing a credible but unconfirmed al-Qaida threat to use a car bomb on bridges or tunnels in New York City or Washington.
It was the first "active plot" timed to coincide with the somber commemoration of the terror group's 9/11 attacks a decade ago that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Counterterrorism officials were investigating the threat early Friday, as police in New York and Washington said they would increase their already stepped-up staffing levels in light of the recent intelligence.
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An Obama administration official told NBC News Thursday that the threat "so far" was a 5 to 6 on a scale of 10.
Officials emphasized that there was a great deal of uncertainty about the threat and said they were acknowledging it out of an abundance of caution.
Law enforcement officials were being alerted to be on the lookout for three men "of Middle Eastern descent" and potentially traveling in a van, NBC News reported.
They may have recently entered the country, based on the detailed information received by the U.S. intelligence community late Wednesday, officials said.
The intelligence suggested that al-Qaida planned to car bomb one of the two cities that were hit 10 years ago.
While the information had some specificity and the source has been credible in the past, it's uncorroborated, officials warned.
However, given that documents found when Osama bin Laden was killed indicated his desire for an attack on the 9/11 anniversary, and further given concerns about possible retaliation for bin Laden's death, officials decided to pass this information along to local law enforcement agencies.
"Now is not the time not to tell them about it," one official said Thursday night.
The nation's terror alert level has not changed, but raising it was under consideration Thursday night.
Security has been enhanced around the country in the weeks leading up to the 10th anniversary, a date officials have long known could be an appealing time to attack.
Officials have also been concerned that terrorists would see the anniversary as an opportunity to retaliate against the U.S. for killing bin Laden in a military raid in May.
The FBI and Homeland Security Department issued a joint intelligence bulletin Thursday night to law enforcement around the country urging them to maintain increased security and be on the lookout for suspicious activity.
'Specific, credible'
The threat came in a single piece of information and was so specific - and came at such a time of already heightened alert - that it could not be ignored, officials said.
"There is specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information," the head of the FBI's New York division, Janice Fedarcyk, said. "As we always do before important dates like the anniversary of 9/11, we will undoubtedly get more reporting in the coming days."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters that police there were deploying additional resources around the city, but that New Yorkers should go about their business as usual, and the city's observance of the attacks will go on as planned.
"I will take the subway (Friday) and feel just as safe as I did this morning," Bloomberg said. "If you see something, say something."
The New York Police Department stepped up its protective measures, some visible to the public and some not, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
Police would be held for an extra four hours of duty beginning Friday, effectively increasing police patrols by a third.
He also said the public will be subject to vehicle checkpoints around the city; more bags will be inspected on the subway system; more bomb-sniffing dogs will be on patrol; more bomb sweeps will be conducted in parking garages; more illegally parked cars will be towed and more radiation detectors would deployed with officers.
Special attention will be paid to bridges, tunnels and infrastructure.
In Washington, law enforcement officials said they were working 12-hour days indefinitely, and Police Chief Cathy Lanier said unattended cars parked in unusual locations risked being towed.
She said that every one of her 3,800 officers would work at some point during remembrances.
"You'll see mass transit, you'll see restaurants, hotels, sporting events - any place where there's a crowd, we're going to have an increased presence," Lanier said.
People walking or traveling near the U.S. Capitol will see more uniformed and plainclothes officers, additional police cruisers and may notice a bomb squad or SWAT team in areas of Capitol Hill where they wouldn't ordinarily be seen, said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman.
The U.S. Park Police, which has jurisdiction over D.C. landmarks including the National Mall and the Washington Monument, is also on alert.
"We're well aware that this anniversary does bring with it a lot of emotion and concerns, but we're certainly addressing it," said Park Police spokesman David Schlosser.
Briefed on the threat information Thursday morning, President Barack Obama directed the U.S. counterterrorism community to redouble its efforts, a White House official said.
As of late Thursday, there were no plans to change Obama's travel schedule on Sunday in light of the threat, the White House said.
The president is scheduled to mark the 9/11 anniversary with stops at New York's ground zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa. He also will deliver remarks Sunday night at a memorial concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
President George W. Bush also plans to attend Sunday's ground zero event.
Kelly, the NYPD's commissioner, said that ground zero would be surrounded by a frozen zone on Sunday. Thousands of cops will be on duty, some carrying sniper rifles. Hundreds of surveillance cameras will monitor the site.
Kelly said quick-reaction forces will be assigned outside lower Manhattan.
Cops trained to use heavy weapons after the Mumbai 2008 terror attacks will supplement officers, he said.
"Bomb squad officers and hostage negotiators will also be attached to these quick reaction groups, as will highway patrol officers to ensure these teams can get to any point in the city as quickly as possible," Kelly said.
'No need to panic'
Police scuba divers will also examine the USS New York, made of World Trade Center steel, at its West 48th Street dock, Kelly added.
Law enforcement officials are checking out all of the details included in the threat, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said.
"No need to panic," King said. "They have not been able to confirm it yet."
Intelligence officials had not seen any specific or credible threats regarding an attack around the anniversary before Wednesday.
Thursday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters that there was "a lot of chatter" around the anniversary of the attacks but that there was no information about a specific threat.
Napolitano had been briefed on early interpretations of the threat that morning as intelligence officials were still trying to determine the validity of the information. It later became clear that the threat was specific and credible and could not be dismissed, even though it has not been confirmed.
Already responding to rampaging rivers , Pennsylvania emergency workers say they are preparing for whatever security threats Sept. 11 events may bring.
National Park Service's Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville will be unveiled Saturday during events that are expected to draw 10,000 people, including Vice President Joe Biden.
Cory Angell, a PEMA spokesman, told radio station WHYY the center nearest to the site of the Flight 93 memorial in Somerset County will be activated at a Level 2 - meaning key emergency staffers from different state departments will be on duty.
"In the western part of Pittsburgh, of course - Flight 93 and the event that they're having in memory of those lost on 9/11 - being a significant event, that EOC will be activated at a Level 2, as well," he said.
The Flight 93 memorial's website notes that security checkpoints will be located at ceremony entrances, chairs will be permitted but not in bags; coolers are banned.
Among major commemorations:
SATURDAY
8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. - Bill Clinton will speak at this week's dedication of the Flight 93 National Memorial in western Pennsylvania. The former president will join former President George W. Bush, Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Flight 93 family members at Saturday's event (which runs 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.). Sunday is the 10th anniversary commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Events will take place 8:30-11 a.m. and 1:50-5 p.m. The events are open to the public, and security is expected to be tight.
http://www.nps.gov/flni/planyourvisit/september-11-2011-weekend.htm
http://www.nps.gov/flni/planyourvisit/sunday-september-11-2011.htm
SUNDAY
8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: The National September 11 Memorial in New York will be dedicated during a ceremony for victims' families. President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush plan to attend. The memorial opens to the public the following day.
http://www.911memorial.org/about-911-ceremony
9:30 a.m.: The Pentagon Memorial will have an invite-only ceremony for families of 9/11 victims at 9:30 am. The Pentagon Memorial will re-open to the general public following the ceremony.
1-4 p.m.: HandsOn Greater DC Cares and Serve DC - the Mayor's Office of Volunteerism will commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by hosting Tribute to Service - Honoring the Victims, Survivors, and Heroes of 9/11 at Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington, D.C. from 1-4 p.m.
http://pentagonmemorial.org/plan/events/september-11-2011-weekend-events
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